First Month with 2 Kids!

Well, so far so good! Sort of :). Brinley is a very different experience than Cohen was. Nights at the moment are not very fun. Nursing is taking forever because she seriously has to belch like a frat boy every 3 minutes or so.....followed by puking everything we just got in her. Her coloring is usually pretty red and her tummy is always tight,
even in her sleep it seems like she's pushing and is just uncomfortable as can be which has meant a lot of sleepless nights on our part due to her sad uncomfortable cries.

Yesterday my sister in law told me about an herbal supliment called Gripe Water. And can I just say, she has only had 2 doses and she is a completely different child!!!!
We are just hoping and praying it stays that way and hopefully we'll get a LITTLE more sleep tonight. Her coloring has calmed down and she just seems to be able to relax finally. Thank you Christy!!!

Now Cohen is doing very well with her, at first I thought, does he get or care about her? Well I went to go pick him up from nursery on Sunday and I had Brinley in my arms and all the little girls came up to look at her and Cohen ran over stepped between them and Brinley and said "MY BABY!!!!" , huh, I guess he does care..... but since she has been born we've noticed a significant increase in the tantrums and the attention getting.
He has certainly mastered the art of testing our patience, funny around the same time we started praying for some (Patience that is)! Be careful what you wish for! :) But ya know, in the same breath he can be the sweetest little boy on the planet. He is learning so many songs, he has a toy microphone that he carries around and sings "I hope they call me on a mission" and "I kneel to Pray" at the top of his lungs. He won't do it if i ASK him too...only on his terms :). He loves to snuggle and make you laugh. He's really into drawing on the walls, much to OUR dismay. We're working on limiting the art work to paper. He loves to stick things in the vents, chase Dexter (my parents chihuahua)all over the house, go on golf cart rides with Daddy, and hang on my leg wherever I go asking "snack?" "Snack?" "SNACK?".

I also get the pleasure of watching my sweet little neice Emma LaRae during the day while my sister goes to school. She is so so sweet, about three months now and is all smiles. She is the one in the stroller with Cohen. It's a little bit of a challenge going from 1 kid to 3 kids and a dog during the day :) but I love it. It's fun to have babies at the same time with my lil sis. Here is a picture of her and Brinley.

The Kiddies

Brinley 2 Days Old

Brinley is now 2 weeks old :) She is super alert for how young she is...love those big eyes....she has a pretty strong neck too. Very slow eater.....probably because she has to burp like three times after just 5 minutes...she's a puker. She hasn't been as kind to her mom and Dad at night as her older brother was :).....but we are working on it. She doesn't cry all night just squeaks and grunts it's funny (when we're not feeling sleep deprived :) ) We took her to the doctors office last week, her blood sugars are right on track and she only lost 3 oz. putting her 5 lbs 15 oz. She is just a little thing and we love love love her. It's amazing how personality comes through even in those first days...heck in the womb!!!!!!

Cohen 2 1/2 Years Old

We can't forget big brother Cohen who is 2 and half now!!!! I can't even believe how fast it has gone.. I was really really hoping that he would be potty trained at this point....but not so much. He's really good at telling me AFTER he has gone "stinky" but we are having a a heck of a time getting him to tell us before!!!! We will let him sit on the potty right before bed.....he won't go...then he will go to bed and 10 minutes later "MOM!!! STIIIINKYYYY!!!" Pray for us! lol :) He is such a lover....always wanting to give me kisses....that's actually how he wakes me up in the morning...he walks into my room puts his hand on my face and kisses my cheek.....then says "Watch Cars?" or "Watch Nemo" he is OBSESSED with these two movies. I have never let Cohen watch very much TV, then he broke his arm....and in the middle ofa hot humid Florida summer when I was 9 months pregnant and he couldn't get wet, then I had Brinley, and was trying to heal myself.....so .....I resorted to movies, coloring and toys. Well...he asks like 50 times a day to watch one of them! I'm anxious to get him active outside again.....we have a kiddie pool which has been nice and he loves to ride his mini 4 wheeler, I'm just anxious to get him around kids again (play group and what not).

He LOVES nursery.....Sacrament Meeting is interesting...because he's 2, and just likes to say "nursery?" we tell him AFTER.....then he demands "NURSERY!!!" we say LATER.....then pending on the day there is either a tantrum, or a change in subject..."Snack?" "SNACK!!!!" "Snack pease?" :) He's funny. He is really talking quite well, loves story time...loves to sing. His favorite song of late is "I hope they call me on a Mission" He wants to sing it like 3 times before bed....He has known the alphabet and how to count to 15 for awhile...but he is now RECOGNIZING what letter is what...which is fun. He has letters he plays with in the bath tub....and he'll hold one up and say "B" or "4" and 85 percent of the time he's right! My little genious :) I was nervous how he would be when Brinley came along....because he has gotten my undivided attention since March......but he's not really that phased by it...he'll give her a kiss from time to time or if she is crying....he'll say "Why crying?" But he hasn't been too for or against her really, surprisingly. He likes to steal her binkies and tries to climb in her swing....but he's just fine with her. I'm glad. He is a good good kid. And just getting sweeter and cuter with every day (of course I'm the mama and a little biased). I just feel so blessed to be the mommie of these two wonderful, beautiful kids.

This is my cute Niece Emma LaRae and of course my Brinley :) 2 peas in a pod. It is fun watching them grow!

Meet Our Little Princess!

Brinley Eve Moser

Born July 26, 2010
5:52 pm

6lbs 2oz.- 19 inches

This is my sweet daughter Brinley. Brinley came into this world on HER terms!.

My due date was August 1st. She was born on July 26th. The week previous to the 26th I had had a doctors apt, where I was dialated to a 3. I thought AWESOME! She is going to be here before I know it! That doctors apt ended up being like 2 hours long hooked up to a monitor measuring her heart rate....seems my little girl did not want to wake up...they brought me juice to see if anything had changed....her heart wasn't doing what they wanted it to, so after being hooked up to that thing for 2 hours they gave me an ultra sound...she was just lazy lazy girl, but everything seemed to check out. The doctor did express some concern about a possible umbilical chord problem that wouldn't be detected on the ultra sound, she told me that if I don't feel 10 kicks in 2 hours to go to call, if it was after clinic hours to call the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. I said okay.

So I went home ate lunch, went on a much needed date with the hubba, saw a movie.....I was distracted, because I hadn't felt her all day, not once since the doctors office, We went to dinner and I drank like 3 cokes hoping that would hype her up so I could sleep that night......nothing. I went home feeling a little uneasy. It was 10pm (my apt that morning was 10:30 am) I had hardly felt a thing, I didn't want to be one of those crazy moms that just goes to the hospital just to get sent home...but I was starting to worry a little, so I called the nurse told me to go drink a huge glass of juice and lay in my room for 1 hour and if I don't feel at least 6 kicks to call her.
So I did, in the course of that hour I felt one kick and one shift, so I called her back, and she told me to come in right away. I got to the hospital, they hooked me up to that machine again, same story as my apt. my girl was being lazy, so they brought in 4 grape juices, and a sierra mist (okay, mind you I have had 3 cokes and huge cup of apple juice before I got there.....and when they brought all that in.....I was about to puke) I drink all of it......I was practically in a sugar coma! But going to the monitor, still NOTHING...they had me get in a couple different positions, this made it so we could here her shifting (thank heavens) but her heart rate was still not doing what it should, so they brought in the ultra sound technician.
He spent the next half hour inputing little codes in the computer...but his whole guide line was try to get her to move twice in a half hour. well the first 20 minutes, nothing, they would zoom up one of her legs, and he would press to try and get her to move it....she wouldn't he pushed harder.....nothing, harder...(HURTING) nothing...after 20 minutes he did it really hard again, and she budged like a centimeter.........she did move one more time in the last couple minutes....so they were satisfied with that.....at 2:30 in the morning they let me go home with instructions to call my doctors office in the morning, well the next morning I felt her all over the place! Just tired I guess!
Well a week goes by and July 26th I went to my doctors apt, fully hoping/praying/expecting, to be dialated more and hopefully have him send me on my way! Well at 10:30 am he checked me, and I was still at a 3 and she was still pretty high up there (no change from the week before) I went home super bummed out. Just ready to get this girl out ya know!? at 11:30 we walked out of the doctors office, went to Subway, got home at around 12:30.....well at about 2:00 I started feeling some contractions like 20 minutes apart I shrugged them off...I had contractions really early on in my pregnancy with Cohen so I wasn't expecting anything....well by 3:20 my contractions were averaging 5 minutes apart.....my doctor told me that it needed to be that way for about an hour or hour and a half and then to call and go to the hospital...
well they were fluctuating between 5 minutes and 8 minutes for over an hour at like 4:40 though they wern't getting CLOSER together the contractions were getting significantly stronger. Jerry called the hospital. They said "We typically like to see those contractions closer together before coming in...but if they really are getting stronger, bring her in and we'll check her" We get in the car.....still timing....but I really did not want to go just to be sent home....on the way there I had contractions that were 15 MINUTES apart....um...Im thinking...they are gonna send me home...lets just turn around.....(but the contractions I WAS having were so strong, so we kept going) I got to the hospital....I'm in tears as we go to the E.R. Jerry got the wheel chair and they brought me up to labor and delivery...I had a contraction in front of the nurse and she said "Sounds like labor to me!"
She gave me my clothes, to change in the bathroom, by the time I was dressed and put into the hospital bed it was 5:20pm. The nurse started going through some paper work....my contractions were getting ridiculous, she checked me right then and she goe.s.."oh......you are at an 8. Excuse me" and she ran out of the room. What she said was "you are at an 8" what I HEARD was "You are not getting the epidural" I was doing pretty well with my contractions till that realization....I had not mentally prepared for having this baby naturally let alone finding out in the full throws of labor....I panicked......the nurse came in with a few other people, one of them the doctor (my doctors partner actually) she got there lickity split....impressive.....the contractions were on top of each other lasting what felt like forever it wasn't my finest half hour I will tell you that....I was not so nice and not so calm and collected. They were all rushing to get my IV in which they didn't even have time to do anything that way..they put an oxygen mask on and that frustrated me....i took it off and they put it on saying the baby's heart rate was dropping.....It was time to push, I was freaking out...and finally the nurse on my right got right in my face and was like "Shannon....STOP screaming and look at me" she was very blunt very forceful and very much EXACTLY what I needed to concentrate on.
I can't remember everything she said but I was able to concentrate over the pain, and I was able to get that baby out in 2 pushes. Like I said I got in that hospital bed at 5:20, she was born at 5:52. She came out with her umbilical chord wrapped around her neck twice (hence the heart rate issues the week before) She didn't cry when she came out and that scared me. They didn't put her on my lap like they did when my son was born....they took her away, The doctor assured me that she was fine- that some baby's are just stunned at first, that I was lucky because had this not been a fast labor or even had I done the epidural I would have most likely had to end up having an emergency c-section because the umbilical chord was not only wrapped around her but it was a short chord and if it had happened differently she would have been stuck in the birth canal longer with her heart rate dropping quickly. So I guess that experience was a huge blessing in disguise. Anyways, I had ripped (not an episiotomy but inside and up into where I pee- I know you wanted that visual) and after the baby was born...they gave me some drug through my IV that put me on a different planet completely. It was weird. but they had to sew me up which was not so pleasant...but eventually the experience was over...my mom and my sister got there and were like....are you kidding? We missed it?

I'm just glad I didn't get stuck in traffic. That could have been interesting in the car. People ask me now that I've had one with the epidural and one without which I prefer.....and well....I was definitely a lot calmer with the epidural....labor was a breeze, but it took longer for me to recover from the drugs.....I think had i been EXPECTING to go natural, and not just go in and find out when i'm 20 minutes away from having the baby....I think I could have focused easier and not panicked as much if I had to do it again at least I know I could and how to get in my zone a little better....but I think I still prefer the epidural....yeah....definitely :)......Jerry was so sweet....listening to him recount it now is funny...he was telling someone the other day.."Man, with Cohen...I thought I was like the best labor coach in the world. But this one, she kept saying "it hurts" I'd say I know I know...and she'd go "YOU DON"T KNOW!!!!" lol....he was like...."Thank goodness for the nurse!!!!" She hardly wanted me to touch her! I can hardly even remember.....

I passed out going to the bathroom for the first time....drugs and lots of blood loss...I guess not an awesome combination.....
But they moved me into the post partum wing and after 4 hours they finally brought in my new baby girl. I know this next picture is really hot of me....it was the only one I'd let Jerry take of me through the ordeal :)lol. YOU CAN SEE WHY!!!!! I was pretty drugged at THIS point and had been put through the ringer!

Her blood sugar was low along with her temperature...so they told me I would have to supplement with formula till my milk came in. But Jerry and I got some quality time with our new precious addition. She has so much hair!!!! Her and Cohen don't look a single thing alike!!! It's pretty funny.

She is our little angel.


All in all we are both healthy...all happy and were so excited to take her home on Wednesday the 28th.

Nap Time Gone Wrong

So I put Cohen down for a nap, He has been in a big boy bed since Feb. and has been fine, sure he gets out of bed occassionally no big whoop, all and all he's taken to the change really well. Well....Again, I put him down for a nap, and I heard him messin around up there, then I heard a big thud....he started screaming...I ran upstairs and found him on the floor at the foot of the bed crying and holding his arm....there was a big mass above his elbow and his arm was completely limp, I called his pediatrician while my sister Dani held him , to find out what they wanted me to do, they said take him to the E.R. So we got in the car, drove to the hospital...got right in...they took an x-ray and it was definitely broken above the elbow, within the hour they were prepping him for surgery...he got 2 pins in his arm and we had to spend the night in the hospital. It was sad...but he was a champ....we watched Elmo and Disney movies all night. He had his splint on for 4 weeks....they didn't want to do the hard cast because he's so young and I guess can be kind of tramatic to get taken off....so we did our best with the splint...he kept trying to unwrap everything....so we resorted to wrapping it in packing tape. :).

36 Weeks

Emma LaRae Skinner

My sister Dani gave birth to my new sweet little neice!

Born June 9th @ 7:34 PM
6lbs 9oz -21 Inches

Preggie Progress

30 weeks



Shannon 32 Weeks- Dani 39 Weeks